Commitment of the Month – Jack Devine ’18

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If in fifth grade you told Jack Devine ‘18 that he would be a varsity lacrosse player at Bellarmine College Prep and a Marquette University commit, he would have been in disbelief. Yet in 2016, Jack finds himself in exactly that position – a circumstance that originates from his determination and early efforts to establish a name for himself.

Jack Devine started playing lacrosse in sixth grade when he entered Jordan Middle School in Palo Alto. “My brother played a year [and] I started playing around with his lacrosse stick and I immediately fell in love with it,” he said. It was at this moment when he realized that the physical side of lacrosse was suited for his athletic prowess. “My dad always kinda liked football more, but he loved how physical the sport was,” Jack said. “My mom was always scared because I would always get hit a lot.”

Jack’s athletic abilities like having quick feet and excellent stamina and power enabled him to compete in a high level such as lacrosse. Before entering high school, Jack was an A-Team starter of his middle school’s basketball program and was a key member of the Palo Alto Knights – an American Youth Football team. Now, Jack devotes his sports career to Bellarmine’s famed football and lacrosse programs. He said, “Compared to lacrosse in Bellarmine, the amount of work that I put in [to football] kinda leaned towards the fact that football was my sport, but in reality lacrosse was a sport that I liked more and I think I was better at.”

It was Jack Devine’s lacrosse talent that collided with what college coaches wanted, and his 3D NorCal coach helped him become an eye-catcher for NCAA coaches. “[Bruce Frady] was basically the coach who helped me commit to Marquette. He always talked to different coaches for me, sent my name out and let my name be heard across Division 1 coaches. He was not only a coach, but also a very close friend of mine,” Devine said. “Sometimes, he would come to my football games and text [me] every day to talk about lacrosse and how I was doing.”

While finding success with his club team alongside players from across the Bay Area who committed to the University of Denver, Middlebury, Rutgers, and Villanova, Jack also remained a key player for the Bellarmine lacrosse team. Playing on varsity as a sophomore under Coach Bob Steinbock, Jack earned WCAL All-League 2nd Team in addition to helping the team get into the finals match with St. Ignatius. The team later fell to the Wildcats in the finals by a score of 9-12, but the future was bright for the many juniors and few sophomores on the team.

Jack’s recruiting process is different from many other sports as well. Lacrosse’s recruiting timeline is much earlier than other sports with a majority of D1 commits knowing where they will be attending by their freshman or sophomore year. When Jack was asked why he fell in love with Marquette University, he said, “I went there and [Marquette] matched every single thing I wanted in a school. It’s a mid-size school and it’s in Wisconsin where my mom used to live. It’s an urban area in Milwaukee and I love it there.” The business and real estate programs offered at Marquette University also appealed to the junior when making his decision to commit to the Golden Eagles over Loyola and UMass.

Now, schoolmates might believe that Jack can relax and relish the idea of being a future Division 1 athlete, but those assumptions are false. Jack continues to play lacrosse as if he still has more to prove than what he already has shown. Marquette finished its 2015-2016 season with an arguably successful season with 11 wins and 5 losses. Despite the university’s successful regular season that included huge victories over Georgetown and Providence, the Golden Eagles fell to the North Carolina Tar Heels, a team that would later clinch the NCAA champions over Maryland by 14-13 in overtime. Undoubtedly, expectations will be high for Jack and Marquette in the season of 2018-2019. When asked whether he will stay involved with lacrosse past college, Jack said, “It’s hard to answer that because I’m still a junior in high school, but I’m curious to see how it ends up because I do love the sport and I do think my options are intriguing.” Truly, Jack’s options and possibilities in lacrosse will intrigue and captivate all those around him.